Manchester United told what to expect from Jim Ratcliffe takeover by ex-Nice boss Patrick Vieira

Manager details life under INEOS billionaire at French club
Marc Mayo28 April 2023

Patrick Vieira says Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be a relatively hands-off owner of Manchester United, should he be successful in his takeover bid.

The deadline for the third and final offers to purchase the Premier League giants is due at 10pm on Friday, with the British billionaire among several contenders.

It has recently been revealed that Oldham-born Ratcliffe would allow the Glazer family to keep a 20 per-cent stake in United, unlike the full takeover being proposed by Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Should he be successful, Ratcliffe would bring high expectations to Old Trafford but would allow manager Erik ten Hag to do his work without interference.

That is according to ex-Nice boss Vieira, who worked under him after the purchase of the French club in 2019 before a poor run of form led to his sacking 18 months later.

“He’d never interfere with my work,” Vieira told FourFourTwo.

“We’d talk about football when we met, about the team and our lives, but he’s not an owner who will get involved too much and prevent the manager from doing his job.

“His ambitions and expectations are high, so you know where you stand, but you can do your job freely.”

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